Traditional techniques for making painted signs have required high levels of artistic craftsmanship to achieve pleasing layout, optimum letter spacing and proper letter formation, coupled with calligraphic mastery of many different upper and lower case alphabets.
The advent of molded plastic letters has reduced the need for expert calligraphy, but layout, transfer and positioning of the letters on the signblank to produce raised letter signs have still required painstaking artistry to achieve anything more than indifferent success.
The techniques and cooperating devices of this invention provide a convenient worktable for the signblank, a line-spacing layout master for optimum line positioning, a letter staging zone where the individual molded or die cut letters can be manipulated, spaced and re-spaced for maximum readability, and transfer means for moving the entire line of letters en bloc for adhesive or solvent welding installation on the signblank.
Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is to provide techniques and cooperating devices for layout and fabrication of molded, raised or die cut vinyl letter signs with speed and efficiency by signmakers having minimum artistic training and experience.
A further object of the invention is to provide signmaking techniques and devices of this character with a letter staging zone where individual letters are easily assembled, spaced, re-spaced and temporarily retained in their desired relationship without disturbance.
Another object of the invention is to provide signmaking techniques and devices of this character incorporating transfer means for moving each assembled line of letters bodily from the staging zone for adhesive or solvent welding installation on the signblank.
Still another object of the invention is to provide signmaking techniques and devices of this character incorporating positioning and centering guides for quick centering and positioning of assembled lines of letters.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.
The invention accordingly comprises the several steps and the relation of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, and the apparatus embodying features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangements of parts which are adapted to effect such steps, all as exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.